well like I had stated, my beagle lived till she was almost 15 yrs old and back then they just said to wash her area etc , its more strident today and for a good reason!! I can't say as I've ever heard of a relapse. In one article I've read it says they are probably immune to parvo for life, let me see if I can find it.

Melinda, there are certain breeds that are more suseptible to the parvo virus such as rotties and chocolate labs. It has something to do with their stomach lining if I remember correctly. These breeds are very volunerable to the virus.
In essense, no dog is safe from the virus.

I know alot of people are against vaccinating their dogs yearly, but this is one vaccine I absolutely insist on for my pack.

I know when I was a child I was vaccinated against measles. Since that time I have had 2 instances of the outbreak. I really think it depends on the immune system of the individual which dictates whether or not they are more suspectible or not.

Interesting, I never came across any info about worm infestations causing false positive tests...
The foster / rescue lady that we adopted from de-wormed her right in front of me before we took her home. This was Aug.31st. The next day she had 2 bowel movements w/ very obvious round worms present, I mean loaded...Do you think this is possibly what happened to her? I know she had her 1st shot on Aug.28, I confirmed this w/ the vet who gave it to her. My vet told me that the fact she had the shot most likely made it worse for her as he believes that the virus was already present. Regardless, she was /is, very sick - but I'm now wondering if worms were the suspect...Do you know of any way to find out for sure after the fact? My gut feeling tells me that it may have been both, is that possible?
Thanks again, you folks have made this ordeal much more comforting.
P.S. - my vet told me earlier this evening that he believes that Clementine has passed the critical period & is now slowly beginning to heal - I can't wait to have her home, she is a special little girl!

Interesting, I never came across any info about worm infestations causing false positive tests...
The foster / rescue lady that we adopted from de-wormed her right in front of me before we took her home. This was Aug.31st. The next day she had 2 bowel movements w/ very obvious round worms present, I mean loaded...Do you think this is possibly what happened to her? I know she had her 1st shot on Aug.28, I confirmed this w/ the vet who gave it to her. My vet told me that the fact she had the shot most likely made it worse for her as he believes that the virus was already present. Regardless, she was /is, very sick - but I'm now wondering if worms were the suspect...Do you know of any way to find out for sure after the fact? My gut feeling tells me that it may have been both, is that possible?
Thanks again, you folks have made this ordeal much more comforting.
P.S. - my vet told me earlier this evening that he believes that Clementine has passed the critical period & is now slowly beginning to heal - I can't wait to have her home, she is a special little girl!

Some of the worms and parasites are not visually seen. Tests must be done specifically for giardia and coccidea (spelling...) as they are only seen under a microscope. And yes, false positives can and do happen. I have removed dogs from shelters where they tested positive. Once I got them out and into vet clinics the positive results had nothing to do with parvo, but a worm infestation.

Thanks again folks - because of prayers & healing vibes from people like you, little Clementine is coming home tonight!
The vet said that she is still sick, but needs to get back to a loving environment - she is getting depressed & needs love and support from her 'pack'.
As I am still concerned about he health, could any of you offer some advice on home care in terms of things I should have around just in case? Through my research, I have been thinking about pedialite, chicken broth, probiotic yogurt & a possibly a diotamaceous earth enema...
Thoughts?

Glad to hear that the puppy is home bound.
Check with the vet as they are the best source to advise. Pedialite however is very good to have. Again - check with them first as they have been treating.
Best of luck to you all.
Your puppy is very lucky to have such a wonderful family.

Little Clementine is home, that is the good news!
That being said, I am still extremely worried about her, she seems so weak & her breathing seems heavy / stressed. Is this normal? Could it just be that she is weakened from the virus? I hope so...I plan to stay up with her all night to keep an eye on her. She has been prescibed an antibiotic & our vet gave me instuctions to use pedialite every 1/2 hour & to force feed 10ml's of chicken broth every hour until she will eat on her own - does this sound right? Any idea as to how long before she should show some positive signs of healing?
Thanks!

That being said, it has only been two or three days since she was diagnosed so she is still a very sick little girl and it is going to take a while. I'm sorry I don't really have any advice to offer. I trust that the vet would not have said you could bring her home if he didn't feel confident that the worst danger was over. Her little tummy won't be able to handle much right now so it makes sense to me that he would initially prescribe small but frequent feedings of pedialite and chicken broth.

I know it is hard to see your little girl so sick. Of course if she is vomiting or shows any other negative signs you would contact your vet and he will decide if any other steps need to be taken. It is important not to overload her system but it is also very important that she doesn't get dehydrated.

Sending that she starts to feel better very soon. Please keep us updated.

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"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we値l change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

rough night...
not sure if there has been progress or not...
She is having a hard time keeping anything down, I'm guessing this is somewhat normal after everything she has been through. She did respond positively to pedialite - she got up & walked around, but I'm worried about the fact that she can't keep any food down.
She is sleeping peaceully as we speak, but am concerned that if she can't keep any food down, or her antibiotic for that matter, that she can't get stronger.
Taking her back to the vet is not an option, we're strapped financially. I am willing to do whatever I can do to help her, but I don't know if I am doing the right thing.
Parvo SUCKS

We scraped the bottom of the barrel & took her back to the vet for 1 more day / night. I just spoke with the vet & he is concerned that she is not keeping anything down & not eating on her own. He believes that the fact that she was vaccinated after the fact, and de-wormed has weakened her little body considerably & made it very hard for her to recover he believes that she still has a chance, but she needs to pull through very soon - please pray extra hard.
I can't believe how tough this little warrior is - even through all of this, she has been holding her head high & was even walking around last night & this morning.
I'm trying to remain positive, but I will not let her suffer, she already has so much...

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"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we値l change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

My last dog had parvo as a puppy & was in the vet hosp on IV & a watered down gruel of canned dog food for several days. I don't have any first hand experience to give you as this was all before I got him ~ when he was 6 years old.

Hopefully your vet will allow you to set up a payment plan to allow for the treatments your girl needs ~ it doesn't hurt to ask

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Avoid biting when a simple growl will do

The Spirit Lives As Long As Someone Who Lives Remembers You - Navaho Saying

Vindication ~ For all those pets who became sick or lost their lives from tainted pet food

Our little warrior, Clementine...
Had a vomit / diarrhea free night last night!!!
The doc called this am & said we better come & take a look - we arrived to see a clean kennel & 1 tired, worn out little puppy - but very much alive!!!
Not getting our hopes up too much, but it looks like she may have finally turned the corner
Thank you so much for your prayers & positive vibe projections - they're working!

__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we値l change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

Clementine is a survivor!
She has fought hard & is now building up her strength - she should be home for good tomorrow! We saw her today, she was throwing her head around, smacking her lab tail on ther side of the kennel & was very happy to see her family! She drank on her own & showed definite interest in food - just didn't want to try it yet...no parvo symtoms for over 2 days now!
Thank you so much for prayers & well wishes, sincerely appreciated!

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we値l change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

Thank you sincerely to everyone for all of your prayers & well wishes for our little girl, Clementine.
She is an extremely tough, resilient, special (& expensive!) little pup who is going to have a hopefully, long & happy life!
When my daughter, Thea & I went to see her this morning, she tried to jump out of the cage & make a run for it ("gonna make a jailbreak...") - she is ready to come home! She is now a mad puppy - she has had enough of that place!!! I pick her up tonight - can't wait! Thanks again folks.

Sounds like she's going to be one happy puppy to get out of "jail" and be back with her family.

Please continue to keep us updated.

To add pictures from your computer to this thread just start a new post and click on attachments (the paper clip icon). You can then browse for the picture files and upload them to your post. Looking forward to seeing pics of little Clementine.

__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we値l change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

So wonderful that she is back home with her family. Please keep us updated on how things are going.

__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The animals share with us the privilege of having a soul." -Pythagoras
"The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different." -Hippocrates
"Let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we値l change the world." -Jack Layton
"Be the change you want to see in the world" -Gandhi

Back to the vet for more treatment...
Possible coccidia, possible giardia (sp.?), possibly both, if that's possible?
Poor Puppy...& damn the so-called 'rescue' lady we picked her up from...
The bright side is that she has a chance at a nice life - if she is not too damaged to recover...
All things considered - I cannot recall a tougher little canine / feline soul that I ever have come across in my life - she is a true warrior, and a very loved one @ that.